Politics
2023: Osinbajo, Fayemi Can’t Stand Against Tinubu – Sen Abu Ibrahim
No aspirant from the South can stand against the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the contest for the presidency ahead of 2023, a chieftain of the ruling party, Senator Abu Ibrahim, has said.
Senator Ibrahim, who is a close confidant of both President Muhammadu Buhari and the Asiwaju, told Daily Trust on Sunday in an exclusive interview that all those being taunted for the presidency in the South-West were protégés of the former Lagos governor and would not compete against him.
Narrating how he linked Buhari with Tinubu in 2010, the Katsina-born politician, who had been in the Senate for many years before he quit, said the alleged plan by some northern governors to retain power in the North would not scale through.
Asked if the reported presidential ambitions of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State would not affect the chances of Tinubu, Ibrahim said, “It is normal, but the issue is: Can they stand Tinubu in the South-West? They can see what is coming up. I don’t want to start discussing this issue; it is a different topic.
“Fayemi, for example, knows very well that he is Tinubu’s boy. He was living in Ghana when Tinubu brought him. I once slept in his house in Accra.
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“Tinubu brought Fayemi back to Nigeria. Above other leading contenders, he picked him to be the governor of Ekiti State. When we met at Bourdillon (Tinubu’s residence), he told me to thank my friend for him. He said Asiwaju even mobilised fund for him after nominating him to be governor.
“He won the election, but in the second tenure, he failed to even win his ward, and he was made a minister. When he wanted to go for this present tenure, I went to the president and I said Fayemi may not be able to win without Tinubu, so he called Asiwaju and gave him the responsibility to deliver Ekiti for him.”
And on Osinbajo, he said, “The vice president was his commissioner for justice. He never lobbied for the office; he just picked and gave him that position. I have discussed with the vice president many times. I went to his house and office and we discussed the party and everything, including his relationship with Asiwaju. I know how he felt or how he feels about their relationship. He respects Tinubu so much that I feel he may not be able to contest against him.”
Senator Ibrahim also said the leadership of the APC was not using internal mechanisms to make the party stronger, hence the ravaging crises threatening its existence.
Asked whether the president would support Tinubu to actualise his dream of becoming president, Ibrahim, who said President Buhari was his house captain at secondary school in Katsina State, said he had no doubt on that because the former Lagos governor was instrumental to the emergence of Buhari in 2015 when he brought South-West votes to add to Buhari’s 12million in the North that culminated in victory after many trials.
“If we don’t support Tinubu, North-West politicians will suffer in the future as nobody will trust us again. So we have to make sure that this understanding is for our future politics,” he said.
DAILY TRUST
Politics
Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election
Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that he does not know if he will contest the presidency in 2027.
Atiku made the remark in a yet-to-be-aired interview for a television show, Untold Stories, with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, scheduled for broadcast today but exclusively obtained by Daily Trust.
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently announced the formation of a coalition of opposition leaders to wrest power from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
However, there has been widespread speculation about who will lead the coalition and emerge as its presidential candidate, with former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, being considered among its key figures.
When asked if he would be running for the presidency in 2027, Atiku said: “I don’t know because there has to be, first of all, a viable platform, more than any other time in the political history of this country, particularly since the return of democracy.”
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Atiku, who has run for the presidency a record six times, did not rule out the possibility of contesting again in 2027.
“I have not seen Nigeria in dire need of, you know, an experienced and credible leadership than this time.
“We had a similar, you know, what would I say, merger in 2014. About four of us or is it three? We all ran for president and one of us emerged, and we all supported the one who emerged, and he won,” he said.
He agreed with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s assertion that Nigeria’s democracy is deteriorating, saying the situation is “very dire.”
“No doubt about that,” he said.
Atiku also expressed his disappointment with the country’s political leadership.
“The next generation after me, many of them had been governors, had been senators. Instead of me to see an improvement in the level of governance at the state level and so on and so forth, I don’t see it. So I feel a little bit distressed.”
Atiku also questioned the credibility of the current legislative leadership, especially as it relates to the National Assembly’s ratification of the state of emergency in Rivers State
“I am not surprised,” he said, alleging that they are corrupt.
Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election
Politics
Africa’s democracy is govt by small for small number of people – Obasanjo
Africa’s democracy is govt by small for small number of people – Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advanced reasons for what he called abysmal failure of democracy in Africa.
According to him, African presidents work with a clique and wield enormous powers with little or no resistance from perpetuating illegalities and abuse of office.
The ex-President said the democracy being practised in Africa does not aligned with the people’s values, culture, and way of life.
Obasanjo said spoke on Monday at a colloquium in Abuja to mark the 60th birthday of Emeka Ihedioha, a former governor of Imo State.
The former Nigerian leader, who chaired the event, referencing Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” said the system should work for all citizens rather than a privileged few.
He however wondered if African countries are practising true democracy or only adopting Western Liberal democracy.
He said, “If you are talking about democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed. And why has it failed?
“Because in context and in content, it is not Africa. It does not have any aspect of our culture, our way of life, what we stand for, what we believe.
“Today, we have democracy, which is the government of a small number of people, by a small number of people over a large number of people who are deprived of what they need to have in life. That is not democracy that will endure.
“It is ‘I am because I can grab.’ What sort of democracy brings you, and you grab everything and then illegally, corruptly, and you say go to court? When you know that even in the court, you cannot get justice.
“It’s not that democracy is failing, democracy is dying and if we are going to make democracy not to die, we have to look at democracy in the context and in the content of Africa. I hope that we will get to that stage so that democracy which will deliver will be the democracy that we will have in Africa.”
Obasanjo was Nigeria’s military ruler from 1976 to 1979 and democratically elected president from 1999 to 2007.
Politics
Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai’s coalition can’t unseat Tinubu – Shekarau
Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai’s coalition can’t unseat Tinubu – Shekarau
Former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, has cast doubt on the ability of a newly formed opposition coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.
Shekarau described the alliance, which includes former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, as a gathering of individuals with personal political ambitions rather than a structured and unified opposition front.
His remarks came just two days after the coalition’s formation was announced, with the stated goal of challenging Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Dr. Sule Yau, Shekarau remarked, “This is just a gathering of certain individuals with political ambitions; none of them has officially consulted their party leadership.”
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He further argued that a coalition featuring prominent figures does not necessarily equate to an effective political alliance.
“The coalition of opposition figures is a good development, as seen in their recent meeting under what they call an opposition alliance. However, none of the key figures involved represents their party leadership,” Shekarau stated.
Emphasizing the legal framework for political mergers, he pointed out that only registered parties could formally unite, making the recent gathering an informal arrangement rather than an officially recognized coalition.
Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai’s coalition can’t unseat Tinubu – Shekarau
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